Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Denver Post
Tears flowed Wednesday in a Senate
committee when a former meth user talked about how her husband's
unexpected death led to her addiction, a prison sentence and foster care
for her children.
Pam Clifton, who now works for the Colorado
Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, testified in favor of a bill that
would reduce the penalty for the crime of possession of drugs from a
felony to a misdemeanor.
The bill passed the Senate Judiciary
Committee on a 5-2 vote, with two Republicans, Ellen Roberts of Durango
and Steve King of Grand Junction, voting "no." Republican Kevin
Lundberg of Berthoud voted with the four Democrats.
"It wasn't necessary to put me in prison. It was just the easiest thing to do," said Clifton, 50,
who served seven years.
She estimated she had
$100 worth of drugs on her when she was arrested, but the state spent
thousands locking her up and providing foster care for her daughter and
son, who were 7 and 4, respectively, when she went to prison.
Supporters
of Senate Bill 163 said the goal is to offer treatment for addicts who
often find that a felony conviction sentences them to a lifetime of
employment struggles. Drug dealing or manufacturing would remain a
felony.
But critics said the bill would overwhelm county jails, and recent sentencing reforms need more time to work.
The
bill has an unlikely coalition of sponsors: Sens. Shawn Mitchell,
R-Broomfield, and Pat Steadman, D-Denver, and Reps. Claire Levy,
D-Boulder, and Don Beezley, R-Broomfield. They
represent some of the most conservative and liberal members of their
chambers.
Mitchell, who earlier revealed he has a brother with a
felony conviction because of a meth addiction, said he was impressed
with the "thoughtful" testimony from both sides.
"I'm encouraged that this will help us help people more than punish people," he said.
But King said the Mesa County sheriff had to lay off 33 people last year and the bill would
result in more county prisoners — a concern of other sheriffs.
"The
counties are not any more flush with money than the state is," said Peg
Ackerman, lobbyist for the County Sheriffs of Colorado.
Dan
Rubinstein, the district attorneys' representative on a drug task
force, also argued against the bill. He said defense attorneys he's
talked to say the threat of a felony is more effective than a
misdemeanor conviction, and prosecutors fear it would undercut
sentencing reforms passed in recent years.